Chasing Hope, Finding Fun
by Kereea
Summary: A slightly different ending to the Blizzard of '68 gives Jack new hope and one person to talk to…and Bunny learns to deal with an unseen spirit who really, really wants to be noticed...
1. Prologue: Apologies

A/N: This takes place right after the Blizzard of '68 where Bunny decides to find out just why a certain winter spirit did what he did.

.o.o.o.

Prologue: Apologies

.o.o.o.

He'd just wanted to introduce himself. Okay, maybe it was a bad day to do it, but he wasn't exactly the guy for forethought.

Jack quietly traced frost up the trees. He'd been happy to have a chance to see a person who saw him back, to talk to someone other than at them…and he'd gotten a bit overexcited.

Okay, more than a bit. He'd managed a very nice freak snow day, though…

"Oi, Frostbite!"

Jack paused and sighed. Great, the Easter Kangaroo had come to chew him out. The brush off wasn't enough, no, he had to be hunted down and _scolded_ too.

The kangaroo headed over, "Look…I…may have….been a little short with you. Not that you didn't deserve it! But…sorry for telling you to shove off like that. So why'd you drop a blizzard on me, huh? What did I ever do to you?"

"…I wanted to say hi," Jack muttered.

"A blizzard is how you say hi?" the kangaroo asked dryly.

"Jack _Frost_," Jack said, freezing a bush to make his point.

"Or you could have _just said hi_," the kangaroo told him. "You know, the normal way. Wouldn't have bothered the kids."

"They didn't seem all that bothered by the snow," Jack said.

"Look, you just don't mess with someone else's day, you idiot," the kangaroo said. "How'd you like it if the Sandman decided to sweep away all your snow?"

"Okay, he so wouldn't do that—not his style," Jack said.

"How'd you feel if he did, though?" the kangaroo pressed.

"Flattered he noticed," Jack said. "Just…just leave me alone…"

"Oh no," the kangaroo said, grabbing his shoulder. "You dropped a bloody blizzard on me to say 'hi' well guess what: you now have my undivided attention, you little imp."

Jack paused. He'd never, ever had someone's undivided attention… "Really?"

The kangaroo shrugged, "Sure. What did you want?"

"…what are you doing right?"

"Beg pardon?" the kangaroo asked.

"You have to be doing…_something_ right," Jack said. "I keep asking the moon what I'm doing wrong, why no one sees me…" He leaned on his staff. "Why does nobody see me?"

.o.o.o.

Bunnymund paused. He'd expected the kid to either blow him off or just take the apology, not to meet a teen who sounded like he was about to cry. "I don't know kid."

"Have you ever not been seen?" Jack asked. "J-just had someone walk right through you?"

"Not really," Bunny admitted. "Though I didn't head topside much until Easter was pretty established."

"It's awful," Jack said. "They don't even know you're there…" He seemed to take up a death grip on his staff.

Bunny frowned, sure he usually only let himself be glimpsed now and then, but he at least had the option…and Jack didn't. "That bad?"

"Worse. I've tried for weeks straight to get someone to see me," Jack said. "No one ever does…it's been around two hundred and fifty years and no one ever sees me. Can you imagine being alone that long?"

"…Yes."

"What?" Jack asked, giving him a suspicious look.

"Look, I don't get the whole invisible thing," Bunny said. "But I get the alone thing."

"Huh," Jack said. Bunny hoped he didn't ask for elaboration—he was _not_ talking about _that_ with someone he just met and wasn't entirely sure he should like. "Okay."

"So, sorry about yelling a you," Bunny said, trailing off meaningfully.

Jack took a deep breath, "S-sorry about…the blizzard. Didn't think that one through."

"See, it's all good," Bunny said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, oh, hey I've got a question," the kid said. "Why do you call yourself the Easter Bunny when you're a kangaroo?"

Without thinking, Bunny grabbed the neck of Jack's hoodie and launched the boy into a snowdrift. "I _am_ a bunny you nitwit!"

"Oh," Jack said, sitting up. "…You sure?"

Since the kid seemed to be very, very weird, Bunny decided to forgo explain what a Pooka was and just said. "Yes. I'm a _bunny_."

"Huh," Jack said, before flicking his hand and nailing Bunnymund on the muzzle with a snowball. "I'm a winter spirit."

"You're a dead man!" Bunny snapped, tackling him into the snow.

The two wrestled and shoved snow at each other, unaware of the moon merrily twinkling above them.

.o.o.o.

A/N: Next Time: Chapter 1: Home

Also, yes, Jack honestly thought Bunny was a kangaroo when he first met him. I thought that would be a good reason for the nickname.


	2. Chapter 1: Home

A/N: I'm not dead! Here's the first chapter-oh and Jack's still in his older outfit. I'm not sure if hoodies have even been invented yet by the time of this chapter...

.o.o.o.

Chapter 1: Home

.o.o.o.

It had been about five years since Bunnymund had been formally introduced to Jack Frost, or as he preferred to think of the charming brat "Frosty the Hell-Raiser". They'd seen each other off and on since then, Jack happily swinging by Australia when it was time for his southern hemisphere duties and Bunny dropping by Jack's beloved Burgess lake shortly after Easter.

Bunny could tell the kid was attention-starved; his usual reaction to seeing Bunny was a big hug followed by at _least_ ten minutes of nonstop chatter. The Pooka let him have his fun, since the kid would almost listen when Bunny talked, probably out of sheer happiness that he was listening to someone who would hear him if he did say something.

It had taken about a year of explanations to get Jack to figure out what a Pooka was (wait, wait, wait, so you were never human? _Cool_…) and the importance of Easter (so…eggs somehow equal hope—ow! What was that for?), but by now Bunny was pretty sure Jack had the basics down.

Which led to a minor issue when he asked Jack about _his_ life.

"Uh…pretty much what you see me do," Jack said. "Fly around, freeze stuff, snowball fights, make the groundhog wrong whenever I feel like it…you know, winter stuff."

"I meant before you were a spirit," Bunny said, sitting on a rock Jack had helpfully scraped clean of ice before the Pooka's arrival at the lake.

"…No idea," Jack said. "Woke up in the lake and got to freeze things. Acted hyper for a while, then got depressed when people started walking through me." Bunny noticed how he rushed through the last bit—Jack didn't really like to talk about that sort of thing.

"You woke up _in_ the lake?" Bunny asked, glancing at Jack's favorite playground. "As in…underwater?"

"And under the ice," Jack agreed. "Dunno why. Moon told me my name and that's it."

"Jack, you don't get it," Bunny said. "Guardians and spirits led lives before becoming what we are."

"Maybe I'm just special," Jack said.

"Oh you're special all right," Bunny said, rolling his eyes. "Planning a repeat in '78?"

"Nah, you'd kill me…or…whatever you do to spirits, since you seem to think we're all dead," Jack said.

"I never said we were all _dead_ you idiot, I said everyone had lives before becoming a spirit or Guardian," Bunny said. "North never died and he's still around."

"North…North…" Jack mused.

"Santa," Bunny said.

"You know _Santa_? Wait, you're both Guardians, _duh_, my bad, brain freeze," Jack said. "So…you think _I _died?"

"Good enough guess," Bunny said. "Might explain why you have no clue who you…you're pretty sure you were human, right?"

"Well, I don't have rabbit ears," Jack said dryly. "Going to say yes."

"Maybe I can help you with that," Bunny mused.

.o.o.o.

"Sorry Bunny I—molar, Beijing—I don't have a Jack Frost or even a Jackson Frost on record," Tooth said. "Maybe if I could get a look at—oh, those bicuspids are gorgeous!—you know, see him in person or something but I'm a little busy right now, week after Halloween you know—you three, Arkansas, now—and I could look through some other Jacks but we don't even know how much Manny changed his name and I'm not sure how old he is exactly so I don't even know where to start!" Tooth said.

"…That's a no, then?" Bunny asked, inching away from a mini-fairy that was trying to peer in his mouth.

"Yes. I'm so sorry…poor kid," Tooth sighed. "Oh darn, baseball accident in Japan. Get some extra coins, you guys!"

.o.o.o.

Bunnymund headed back to Burgess with the bad news. He got to Jack's lake and started looking around for the imp.

Jack wasn't making snowmen or snowballs, and he wasn't skating on the ice or decorating the trees… Bunny sniffed, trying to see if he could catch the kid by smell instead.

He looked up. Jack was laying on a tree branch, staff tucked up in one arm and sound asleep.

That really didn't look that safe a position to be in… "Frostbite?" Bunny asked quietly, trying not to startle the kid. To his horror Jack mumbled something and rolled over, smacking right into the ground. "Jack!"

"Okay, ow," Jack muttered. "Oh, hey Bunny." He stretched. "You find what you went looking for?"

"Nope. Tooth thinks she'd need to meet you, and her hands are full right now," Bunny said. "Sorry, kid."

"No problem," Jack said, shrugging. "I mean, it'd be nice and all, you know…help me figure out why I'm here…"

"You know that big snowball fight this morning?" Bunny asked. "All those kids laughing and having a good time?"

"Yeah," Jack said.

"_That's_ why you're here. And while we're talking about locations, what the hell were you doing sleeping in a bloody tree?"

"…Because I was tired?" Jack said.

"And you slept on a tree branch the doesn't even really look like it could hold you?" Bunny demanded.

"The wind won't let me fall."

"She just did."

"Because _you_ woke me up."

"Doesn't stop the fact that you falling out of bed is a thirty foot drop!"

"In case you didn't notice, my home is a _lake_ with _trees_," Jack said. "I'm a little limited."

"You're not going to sleep in a tree."

"Sure I can!"

Bunny grabbed his shoulder, "Nope." He tapped his foot on the ground.

.o.o.o.

"This place is like…green central," Jack said.

"Thank you," Bunny said proudly.

"Dude, you seriously need more white—ow!"

"Come on you idiot," Bunny said. "You want to sleep you'll sleep down here, _not_ up tree. And you'd best come up with somewhere else to sleep if you don't want me dragging you here all the time."

"You're…kidnapping me?" Jack asked.

"No, I'm giving you a bed and mildly threatening you. Move it, Frostbite."

Jack found himself being dragged along the warren into a small tunnel that led to a sort of burrow-base. "Okay, the giant stone eggs are pretty neat."

"Thanks," Bunny said. "Were the devil to get right when I was carving them, but they do their job."

"So where am I supposed to sleep?" Jack asked.

"I have some extra rooms around here," Bunny said, heading into another tunnel.

"Huh. Well, you were nice enough to chat me up, guess you probably have some pals," Jack said.

Bunny paused, "Uh…huh. Anyways, you're staying here until you come up with something better. Igloo, cave, whatever. No more sleeping in trees."

Jack peered in the room. It was a plain dugout with a bed and a table. "Thanks, but really you don't have to…"

"Frostbite, until I know you're not going to sleep in a tree, you will be sleeping here. Am I clear?" Bunny asked sternly.

"…Are you grounding me?"

"Sure. Let's go with that. Come up with something better and I'll let you go," Bunny said.

.o.o.o.

For such an artist with ice, Jack was woefully uncreative when it came to looking for a proper place to rest. Bunny had even given him limits to work with: No trees. No rooftops. No napping on the banks of the lake and calling that a solution.

"I hate you," Jack muttered around his lunch, a salad. "You won't let me sleep at home and you're making me eat vegetables."

"Well if you just found a place of your own we wouldn't have this issue," Bunny retorted.

"_That's my lake_!" Jack argued.

"There has to be somewhere you can find," Bunny said. "A cave, a hollowed out tree, hell, what about the igloo idea?"

"No caves, no thick enough trees, and Burgess isn't cold enough all year," Jack said.

"Then move to Antarctica."

"It's not home. What if I kicked you out of here, iced it all in, and made you stay topside in Australia forever?"

"You'd get a boomerang to the face and I'd dig a new…one… Jack, any hills in Burgess?"

"All over," Jack said. "Why?"

"We're _making_ you a cave," Bunny said, dragging him away from the table.

.o.o.o.

"This is so cool!" Jack cheered, making icicles all over the ceiling.

"Yeah, yeah, just make sure you keep it _hidden_," Bunny said as Jack iced over the floor and started skating around. "And now you're skating. And not listening."

"Yahoo!"

Bunny decided to come back tomorrow. Or maybe in a week.

.o.o.o.

A/N: Poor Bunny. He's let Jack in the Warren, now he'll never get rid of him!


	3. Chapter 2: Grave

A/N: In which Jack gets curious, Bunny has memories, and Jack does research.

.o.o.o.

Chapter 2: Grave

.o.o.o.

Despite Jack now having his own place to stay, he appeared in the Warren that summer, claiming the southern hemisphere wasn't cooling fast enough that year and he needed somewhere to hang around and oh hey, could he mess with the golems?

"Put the paintbrush down!" Bunnymund snapped at the sprite hovering near the Warren's ceiling, doodling stereotypical, cutesy bunnies on the rock.

"Don't you like it?" Jack asked. "I think they're cute."

"Give me the brush and the paint pot and you don't get hurt!" Bunny said, neatly aiming a boomerang and knocking Jack's staff from his hand. The kid fell like a rock until Bunny caught him a few feet above the ground. "Got it?"

Jack huffed and rolled out of Bunny's grip, snatching his staff back up. "Fine, fine, but come on, Easter was weeks ago! Don't you have some time off?"

"I did before I faced a home invasion," Bunny replied. "Some of us like to _relax_ during time off."

Jack gave him a blank look and Bunny flopped down on the grass. "Come on, Frostbite, staying still for a few seconds might do you some good."

He smirked when he felt the imp try to settle down beside him. "Just breathe nice and slow, kid. Relax."

Jack lasted two minutes. "This is boring."

"Relaxing."

"_Boring_, Bunny."

"Then take a walk or something. Just don't mess up the joint," Bunny sighed, shutting his eyes.

Jack spring to his feet and wandered off immediately.

It took Bunny about fifteen minutes to realize he'd just turned Jack Frost loose in his Warren. "Damn it!"

.o.o.o.

Jack happily explored the large underground area, steering clear of the river for more interesting things like the color-shooting flowers or the vines that seemed to grow out of solid rock.

He had to admit—Bunny was one hell of a gardener. He headed further along one pseudo-path, careful not to tap any of the plants with his staff. They looked near-tropical, and he was _not_ explaining dead flowers to Mr. Easter.

Jack frowned—the plants seemed to change as he went further down the path. There were these bunchy, rose-like purple and white flowers with spiraling leaves, and something about them made him think of waking up in the lake for some reason. Jack paused, before continuing forward.

The path now actually had stones on it, which was kind of weird for the Warren. Jack wondered what was down this way. He started to see flowers he recognized—poppies, some white tulips, and forget-me-nots.

Jack frowned down at the more delicate flowers, wondering where the huge, tropical things had gone. Oh well, Bunny was the florist, not him.

Jack continued along, the flowers slowly petering out until there were just rocks leading into one of Bunny's tunnels. The entrance was covered in ivy and what looked like heather…huh, Bunny didn't usually cover his tunnels.

Jack had to see what was inside.

.o.o.o.

Bunny cringed internally as he followed the path Jack had taken. Of all the places—Jack couldn't have ended up by the falls, or the sentinels, or any of the smaller gardens. Nope, Frostbite had to go and find this.

He ignored the flowers he'd planted staring back at him, storming along the path intending to give the spite a good talking-to about invading other's privacy. Then again, he was the one who told Jack to go wandering…nope, kid should have figured to turn back by now anyway. Why else would Bunny have put the freaking rhododendrons right at the start of this path?

He shoved aside the ivy curtain, only to walk right into Jack who had apparently stopped immediately inside the cavern.

"Ah! Bunny!" Jack said, looking freaked out. So _now_ the kid found the atmosphere. "Uh…"

"Frostbite, what are you doing here?" Bunny sighed, making sure to keep his eyes on Jack and not the location.

"You're the one who said to go for a walk," Jack huffed. "Um…Kangaroo…what is this place?"

Jack's eyes darted around the dimly-lit cavern with its stone spires and lack of green.

"Graveyard," Bunny said flatly. "Come on, get."

"Why do you have a graveyard in your house?" Jack asked as Bunny shoved him back out onto the path.

"Because I do," Bunny said stiffly. "Move it."

Jack sighed as he was shooed. Clearly today was not a good day to be around Bunny.

.o.o.o.

Jack frowned as he directed the first bit of chill to head towards South America. He guessed the graveyard had something to do with Bunny being the last Pooka or something, but Jack hadn't known it was there!

And now he didn't even know how to apologize for messing with his only friend's head.

Jack sighed as he drifted lazily along the winds coasting through Sydney ahead of a rainstorm that was coming soon. He wanted to make it up to Bunny—or at least make things less awkward—but he wasn't sure what to do…

A sign caught his eye. A florist was doing consults on the meanings of flowers.

…Flowers had meanings?

Jack broke into a library that night, trying to find what the flowers had meant. Turned out those ones at the entrance had been rhododendrons—seriously, what was with that name?—and they meant "beware" or a warning.

Oops.

Jack flipped through the book he'd found, getting a little worried about Bunny's mental health.

Consolation, forgiveness, and remembrance… Bunny need to console himself about something? Bunny? Mr. Badass Easter Bunny? He wanted to be _forgiven_? For what, being the one still alive?

Heather…solitude. Jack frowned—now that he thought about it, did Bunny hang around anyone other than him and the eggs? He was a Guardian, but they didn't seem to meet up much…

Fidelity…he guessed it was a duty to the dead kind of deal…

Had he intruded or what? Jack groaned and banged his head on the table. No wonder Bunny had been mad…and upset…and stressed…man Jack had messed up…

The wind blew through the window and turned a few pages. Jack peered at it, before grinning. "Great idea!"

.o.o.o.

Bunny supposed he should try and find Jack. It had been almost a month, and the kid probably didn't even really get why Bunny had lost his cool like that.

He had to admit, Jack hadn't meant anything by it. It just hurt being in there.

Bunny paused when he got to his home.

There was a little ice sculpture outside. Bunny carefully picked it up.

A hyacinth. _I'm sorry_.

Bunny smiled and headed for his tunnels.

.o.o.o.

"Boo."

Jack yelped and almost fell off the building. "Ahh! Bunny!" He quickly got his balance back. "Do you know how _hard_ it is to stay up here, Kangaroo?"

"Roof of the opera house…interesting choice," Bunny said.

"Good view, though," Jack said. "Almost as nice as Burgess…"

"So, why you staying down under if home's so great?" Bunny asked.

"Warm front. I'd have to hide in my little rabbit hole," Jack said. "Seriously, the humidity went through the roof…and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine, Jack. Was a long time ago."

Jack frowned, "You know, just because I'm younger than you doesn't mean that I'm not allowed to worry about you, too. I'm almost three-hundred, Roo."

"I'll put up with 'Kangaroo' but I draw the line at you making it all bloody cutesy," Bunny huffed.

"Could you please at least acknowledge what I said?" Jack sighed.

"…Thanks for worrying," Bunny said quietly.

"So…since you never told me what happened to the other Pooka…is that…"

"Yeah," Bunny said. "That's what happened."

"Sorry," Jack said, squeezing Bunny's paw.

"Right…so, where'd _you_ find out about flower meanings?" Bunny asked dryly.

"Oh, I ended up in a library," Jack said. "Hey, did you know south of here there's some non-Antarctic glaciers that never melt?"

"Uh oh, sounds like I'm going to be seeing more of you," Bunny said.

"Like you don't like it."

"I swear, frost, you start messing with my downtime there will be-"

"Better than messing with Easter though, right?"

"Don't push your luck!"

"Oh, I'm pushing!" Jack laughed, hopping into the air and flicking a snowball at Bunny,

"Right, that's it: war," Bunny said, lunging after him into the night.

.o.o.o.

A/N: Flower meanings: Rhododendron—beware, poppy—consolation, white tulip—forgiveness, Forget-me-not—remembrance, heather—solitude, and ivy—fidelity. Finally: Hyacinth-I'm sorry.

There will be future elaboration on the graveyard in later chapters, but next time: Living Color (aka Jack gets to help with Easter)


	4. Chapter 3: Living Color

A/N: Jack helps with Easter. No, really.

.o.o.o.

Chapter 3: Living Color

.o.o.o.

Easter was coming up again, and Jack knew better than to try and play with Bunny this time of year. He resigned himself to just watching the Pooka go about his 'darn it Easter's in one week where did the time go' duties, occasionally slipping into the Warren to watch the egg preparation and Bunny's sort-of-funny panic attacks.

Easter. The one day of the year that showed Bunny existed. One single day of near-unbelievable importance.

Jack wondered what the kind of pressure was like. Mess up on that one day, and a lot of people might stop believing in you—heck, _all_ of them might if you messed up badly. What would that mean? Bunny said he didn't know what it was like being invisible, being unseen…Jack hoped he never did.

"Oi, if you're going to be here, you might as well help!"

Jack looked over from his perch to see Bunny tapping his foot on the ground. "Help?"

"Yeah. Do a good job and maybe I'll go see one of your precious tail-freezing snow days this winter," Bunny said. "Come on, then."

He got to help? _He got to help_! Jack hopped off the ledge and land next to Bunny, "What do you need?"

"Let's see…you're new," the Pooka mused. "Go check the tunnels."

"The tunnels?" Jack said, looking over at the main exists from the Warren. "For…what?"

"Anything blocking them—if you see vines or something you can just freeze them out—or for any trouble."

"Trouble?" Jack asked. "Like a living eggbeater or something?"

"Or something," Bunny huffed with an eye roll. "Sometimes that groundhog tries to mess with some of my eggs. Or somebody else."

"Aw, don't get to be one of the big four without invoking some jealousy, I see," Jack teased.

"Look, you want to help, or you want to leave?" Bunny asked sternly.

"Help, totally help!" Jack said. "But you still have to come to one of my big snow days next winter!"

"I'll live," Bunny said, heading back to the egglets.

Jack sprinted down the first tunnel, wondering what he might find.

.o.o.o.

Tunnel duty was boring. There had been a few vines here and there to freeze and remove, but there wasn't anything much to do and so far everything seemed clear. He went through all of them just to be sure—he didn't want to mess up and have Bunny hinge on the snow day deal.

"Dirt….dirt," Jack said, inspecting the last tunnel. "And door to—hey, Vienna. Good times, good times…very nice snow days in this joint." He shut the door again. "Okay…seven continents, all major tunnels and branches, check…and two days to Easter. Oh, I am _good_!"

After a little happy dance he hurried back out of the tunnels and into the Warren, "Bunny! I finished—_whoa_."

It was like a sea of marching pastel orbs…wait, that was exactly what it was, the finished eggs were starting to get into formation.

"Well, color me impressed," Jack said. "Pun not intended. You lot whip into shape quick, huh?"

"When they know who's whipping them, yeah," Bunny said. He handed Jack a small salad, "You know, you didn't have to do them all in one go. As long as they're done a couple hours early it's fine. Any trouble?"

"Just vines," Jack said, happily munching on his food. "One weird looking root thing. Nothing major."

"Well, good job then," Bunny said. "You can go watch the globe or whatever you want, I suppose."

"Hey, not all of the eggs get colored by the flowers, right?" Jack asked. "What do the swirly ones get?"

"There's the dye river. Some ponds too," Bunny said.

"Oh," Jack said. Something about a pond…he shook his head. He lived near a pond, so why did thoughts of them seem to creep him out? Bunny was probably right about him drowning… "And then you hand-paint a bunch too?"

"Best there is," Bunny said proudly.

"Huh," Jack said, settling on a rock to watch the painting.

.o.o.o.

Bunny had forgotten what happened when you gave Jack a paintbrush. He was an idiot.

Jack was covered in pink and purple, looking ready to freeze the eggs that were tottering all over his staff, which lay in the grass.

Bunny cursed himself for forgetting that Jack plus paint equaled insanity.

"Bunny…I hate your 'googies'," Jack whined. "Can I paint them with ice instead?"

"No," the Pooka replied.

Jack huffed and managed to get his brush back from two eggs that were playing with it. "Hope the kids don't mind abstract…"

"Abstract eggs or abstract ice imps?" Bunny asked.

"Ha-ha," Jack said. "Eggs." He managed to get some of the paint out of his hair, but most of it was still lavender-streaked.

"They don't mind. I've had a bunch of different art phases—no issues."

"Good, because this might even give surrealism a run for it," Jack said, trying a second egg. "Hold still, little guy…"

Bunny snickered as the egg twitched at just the right second to flick a bit of magenta paint onto Jack's face with its tiny foot.

"How about you just make sure the googies are getting out of the river all right?" Bunny asked as Jack grumbled at the egg which was now sporting an odd combination of blue zig-zag lines and magenta splotches.

"Maybe that's for the best," Jack sighed, dusting himself off. "At least you don't use glitter."

"Oh, I do. I just knew better than you put you near it."

.o.o.o.

Jack slid his staff into the river, making a thin ice path for some of the struggling eggs to toddle up to shore on. He made sure the ice had enough texture so it didn't end up as a slide back instead.

"Well, you all seem belter behaved," he said as a few of the eggs stayed by him while the others marched off towards the tunnels. "Get back here!"

He spun his staff around and caught a wandering egg in the crook, turning it back to the group.

Jack frowned, finding the action oddly familiar. He shook it off and made a path for the next batch floating down the river.

One of the eggs that was near him walked up his legs and into his lap.

"No, no, no, Bunny will _toast_ me if you freeze," Jack said, picking the egg up and setting it back in the grass.

The egg somehow managed to look sad. Jack sighed, "Look, little guy, nothing personal, I just don't want you freezing or Bunny mad at me because you're frozen, okay little guy?"

The next batch was coming up. Jack made a little bridge with stairs and a railing for them. "So, what, you guys all normal eggs or there chocolate ones here too?"

The little eggs by his feet formed a small C.

"Chocolate too. Cool," Jack said. "So…where you going?"

The eggs bumped into each other making a shape Jack didn't recognize but looked like something off a map. "A…country. Or a county. Nice that you know where you're headed..." He frowned. "So, you know who's in charge, right?"

His eggs made a rabbit shape.

"Okay, this is fun," Jack said. "Wonder if Santa's elves can do this…okay…can you do a spiral?"

.o.o.o.

"Very clever…can you do a bird?"

Bunny frowned and hurried over to where Jack was crouching at the river. The eggs were getting out easily enough thanks to some ice stairs and paths, but Jack was talking to a little clutch on the ground that quickly arranged themselves into a dove shape.

"Oh, hey Bunny!" Jack said. "Did you know they can do this?"

"Yes," Bunny said dryly. "It's how they know to get into formation."

"Good point," Jack said. "So, Easter's tomorrow. Have fun!"

"When's your snow day?" Bunny asked.

"Eh…let me think about it. I'll have to see how the winds are in October, unless I do one in the southern hemisphere…less likely, I seem to do my best work in Midwestern North America. "

"Jack Frost, planning something?" Bunny asked. "Did you freeze over hell recently?"

"No. But maybe I'll freeze your bed tomorrow so you can chill your tired muscles…"

"Do it and that white hair of yours will be pink for months. I guarantee it," Bunny warned.

"Fine fine…stop by my pond if you need ice for anything, though," Jack said. "I mean it."

"Thanks, kid," Bunny said. "Kind of nice, having a bit of help now and then."

"Got to keep you jumping high, Kangaroo," Jack said, flicking a little ice at him.

"Ha-ha, Frostbite. Don't make me dunk you—something tells me you'd dye well, being so pale and all," Bunny said.

"Yeah, I think I'd better leave before you get any more ideas," Jack said, running off.

.o.o.o.

Jack woke up late in the afternoon on Easter Sunday, worn out from helping with eggs and paint and ooh, he didn't want to know how Bunny did that year after year…

He headed out of his cave, intent on playing by the lake before heading to Antarctica for a bit.

Something caught his eye.

Jack crouched down and grinned widely at a dozen painted, chocolate eggs, all blue and snow-flaked.

He could get used to free candy like this.

.o.o.o.

A/N: Bunny gets a helper, Jack gets free candy. Perfect exchange.


	5. Chapter 4: Invisible

A/N: This one's a bit more hurt/comfort than the last, though the next one will be funny, I swear! Bunny goes to Jack's snow day and thinks more about the annoying sprite he's started concerning himself with recently. Read on!

.o.o.o.

Chapter Four: Invisible

.o.o.o.

Jack had finally picked his snow day for 1981, and let Bunny know via ice graffiti on the Warren's ceiling.

_Bunny, the snow day is November 18. Burgess, early morning. Be on time, or I will make white rabbit "I'm late" jokes_.

Bunny rolled his eyes. Any time Jack discovered anything about an fictional rabbit, the kid tried to apply it to him. And knowing the climate Jack tended to keep Burgess in, he was going to freeze his tail off…

Still, he'd promised. If he broke it Jack might make the Blizzard of '68 look like mini snow cone.

.o.o.o.

"Bunny!"

Bunny found himself with an armful of ice sprite the second he hopped out of the ground. Before he could try to catch the kid, Jack was off him and skating barefoot on his favorite lake.

"You ate those berries that make you hyper again, didn't you?" Bunny asked.

"Maybe. Did you know humans are making cold coffee now?"

"Moon help us all," Bunny muttered with a shudder. Jack on _caffeine_…

"I'm so glad you came!" Jack said, ignoring him. "I mean, I had to make sure the day was just right—you know, enough wind for good drifts, not so much so the kids don't want to come out, not enough sun to melt the snow, And then you've got to get enough signs going to the weathermen tell enough people-"

"I get it, Frostbite. You worked hard on this," Bunny said. "So, the kiddies going to be out soon?"

"In about an hour. But you've got to see this!" Jack said, dashing out of the woods and up a tall hill. Bunny followed him, ignoring the snow turning to slush under his feet.

"Look at that. Some of my best," Jack said, leaning on his staff.

Bunny's eyes widened as the sun started rising over Burgess, painting the snow drifts and reflecting off the ice throughout the buildings.

"Cool, huh?" Jack asked.

"More than," Bunny said. It was, in Jack's own way, a work of art. "So what's your game plan?"

"Well, I have to wait until the kids are up, eat breakfast, and get dressed for the cold," Jack said, flopping back into the snow and making a snow angel. "Come on, it's fun!"

"I will _walk_ in the snow for you, brat, but I ain't lying in it," Bunny said.

"Suit yourself," Jack said, dusting off his cape. "Really it depends on the kids. They go snow forts, I go with it. Sledding, go with it. Snow war—totally, _totally_ go with it."

"Sounds about right," Bunny agreed. "Anywhere warm and non-distracting to sit?"

"Distract—oh," Jack said.

Bunny nodded. Kids _could_ see him, and he didn't want that getting in on Jack's day.

"Well come on, before they wake up!" Jack said, taking off.

.o.o.o.

Bunny had found himself a nice spot on a building edge near some thick pines. It helped that it was near a heat outlet for the building.

Jack, it turned out, was very good with kids. Bunny had to constantly remind himself that the little buggers couldn't see the imp running with them, playing with them…

Jack seemed to be able to make slightly magic snowballs too, ones that made people get along better. A good ability if Bunny ever saw one.

Jack has just finished taking a kid on what Bunny personally would have considered the sled ride from hell but the ankle-bite clearly loved when a boy called for his younger brothers to come in for cocoa.

Both boys ran right through Jack, and Bunny winced. Jack rallied though and went right back to what he was doing.

He knew it would be insensitive to ask, but he couldn't help but wonder what that felt like. Invisible, untouchable…he shuddered at the idea. Then again, he was wondering how Jack could have been doing this for close to three hundred years now with no one ever seeing him.

Even the Banshee still had a believer or two, and those…furry elfin things that took apart technology…gremlins? People believed in _those_ but not Jack Frost?

Bunny huffed. There was some sort of magic that prevented the spirits from promoting each other openly—Manny's idea, an old one from way back when people tried to cozy up to Sandy or Tooth so humans would notice them. Still some spirits—like Frostbite—probably deserved at least one name drop!

The snow day ran until sundown, with kids getting called inside at various points until it was just Jack watching a few stragglers head home.

Bloody hell, he was going to have to hug the kid for that. Almost three hundred years…

.o.o.o.

"Okay, this is new," Jack said, squirming out of Bunny's grip. "Since when do you hug? You get twitchy if someone even vaguely alludes to you being _cute_!"

"I am _not_ cute," Bunny said. "But that…was impressive."

"What, that?" Jack said. "I mean, yeah, it's one of the few I actually _planned_ but that's just…normal stuff, really."

"That's why it's impressive," Bunny said. "Lot of other spirits would have given up a long time ago, you know."

Jack shrugged, "Well…I didn't."

"Glad you didn't," Bunny said. "Still, November's a bit early, isn't it?"

"Relax, Burgess gets cold early a lot of years it won't cause issues," Jack said.

"Been that way forever?"

"Well, as long as I remember," Jack said.

"You're an odd one, Frosty," Bunny said.

"Hey!"

"That's a good thing, you idiot."

"Why is it whenever you compliment me, you insult me right after?"

"You're a teenager. Can't have you getting a swelled head."

"Oh, that is _it_. You, sir, are getting a personal house-freezing later!"

"Just try it and I'll dunk you in the river," Bunny warned. "Remember what I said—pale dyes easy."

.o.o.o.

Jack was silently glad to be invisible that winter, since while Bunny had given him something to get the color out of his _clothes_, the rest of him was neon orange for a month and a half.

It was _still_ worth putting an ice slide out Bunny's door, though.

.o.o.o.

A/N: For everyone who worried about a sugar rush, you now see thart Bunny has something much worse to worry about now that cold coffee exists. Next time: Groundhog Day


	6. Chapter 5: Groundhog Day

A/N: I know this is a bit short, but honestly this is the second chapter I wrote and I think it's good despite the shortness (also, it's almost all dialogue, that helped the shortness).

.o.o.o.

Chapter 5: Groundhog Day

.o.o.o.

"So, explain to me why you're here again?"

"Look, rabbit, I get that you're buddies with Jack Frost and he likes snowing up your holiday now and then, but you have got to call the kid off!"

"I'm sorry," Bunny said dryly. "But…not really sure what you mean there."

"He's making me wrong year after year!"

"Then see your shadow every year for all I care," Bunny said.

"I know you put him up to this!" the Groundhog snapped. "You've been mad for years, ever since I forecast that frozen Easter way back in the 30s!"

"I don't give a damn about your little forecasts and the people who hold stock in them—hell, half your modern tradition is _based_ in how silly it is!" Bunny said. "Get lost, Groundy, I've got eggs to paint."

"Rabbit with eggs. Nice _gimmick_," Groundhog said.

"If you're not gone in the next minute-"

"Just call Frost off!"

"I never set him on you!" Bunny snapped. "In case you didn't notice, Jack Frost does what he wants, when he wants. You ever try talking to him _yourself_ to handle things? Want me to paint you a bloody map to find him?"

It turned out he did.

.o.o.o.

"So this is your hangout."

"Uh…you're the…groundhog?" Jack guessed at the large brown rodent standing at the base of the tree he was lounging in.

"Damn right I am, you upstart," the Groundhog snarled. "You need to stop messing with my predictions!"

"Predictions? Oh! The shadow thing!" Jack said. "Sorry, I forget a lot, not something I think about."

"But you can think about a holiday not even in your season, huh?" the Groundhog asked. "Don't know why you decided to be that overgrown rabbit's errand boy-"

"Okay, one, I _don't_ work for Bunny. He's never told me to do _anything_ to you unless you randomly attack me or something in which case I was advised to freeze you solid and book it," Jack said. "Two, you are _not_ the person to talk about overgrown small mammals. And three…fine. Cloudy groundhog day. No shadow, early spring. Promise. Everyone's happy."

"Keep to your word, Frost," the Groundhog said. "No snowy Easter, no snow in _March_, even!"

"Got it. Clouds on your day equals spring bright and early," Jack said. "Totally got it. Oh, hey, how _do_ you do all those groundhog day celebrations at once?"

"Multiplication. A useful power, unlike painting skills," the groundhog said.

"Well, that's why he has boomerangs," Jack said, his idea already taking shape. He just needed to break into a library and get at a computer to see the range he'd need…

.o.o.o.

"You look happy," Bunny noted, prepping a group of eggs.

"Yep. Had a chat with the Groundhog a month back."

"So what'd he say?"

"Stop making him wrong and some bad stuff about you. Dude is so jealous," Jack chuckled. "Oh, and he's going to want to _murder_ me after today, so some protection would be nice."

"Why would he want to murder you?" Bunny groaned, putting his brush down.

"Cloudy means early spring's coming. Spring _coming_ means it's still winter. What do clouds in winter mean again?" Jack asked, smirking.

"You _didn't_."

"Did."

"Don't get any more awesome, Frosty, I'll have to hug you again," Bunny laughed.

"Hey, it's quality work! Okay, so, the west wind wasn't totally into it at first, but the north wind got it to go anyway and mass-snowstorm all over groundhog territory today only!" Jack laughed.

"Yep, I'm hugging you," Bunny said, grabbing Jack with one arm and ruffling his hair.

"See? I rule," Jack said.

"WHERE IS HE, RABBIT?"

"Remember the protection thing? That'd be good now," Jack said, grabbing his staff.

"Hello, Groundhog. Look a mite chilly, mate, want some hot chocolate?" Bunny offered, nudging Jack behind him and fingering a boomerang.

"We had a deal, Frost," the Groundhog said.

"Yep. It was cloudy and now I'm done for the year until November," Jack said. "Spring's coming. Yay."

"Look, he made sure you were right and everything," Bunny said. "Now get lost! And don't try ordering other spirits about next time, you idiot!"

The Groundhog vanished down one of the tunnels.

"So…he can just…break in here?" Jack asked.

"He's a digger too. The sentinels don't always get him," Bunny said.

"Okay, since I'm off the clock, I'm on egg-guarding duty until Easter," Jack said. "Because boy did he look mad."

"Thanks, Frost."

"Any time, Kangaroo."

.o.o.o.

R&R!


	7. Chapter 6: Naughty List

Chapter 6: Naughty List

.o.o.o.

"Darn it!" Jack swore.

"What? What's wrong?" Bunny asked. Jack had gone to wash some of his clothes in the now dye-free river. Bunny had been experimenting with some texturing techniques and a few of the eggs had jumped on Jack before they were dry.

Jack held up his little cape with a sigh.

"Oh," Bunny said.

The cape was—there was no other word for it—dead. The little patch jobs and stitch ups Jack had done over the years, re-hemming it a decade ago with one of Bunny's leather-stitching needles, scrubbing it whenever the paint got everywhere, all of it was just not working anymore.

"Well, you've still got a shirt, don't you?" Bunny said.

"Yeah, a _white_ shirt. That will start coming apart without something over it," Jack sighed. "I'm shocked the pants are still intact, really…"

"Thank the moon for that," Bunny said dryly. "Well, you can get yourself a new one, right?"

"It's not the eighteenth century anymore, Kangaroo. I'll probably be stuck with a jacket or…maybe one of those hooded things, whatever's in a donation bin," Jack sighed. "…I liked that cloak."

"Well, you won't need one until winter, at any rate," Bunny said. "Maybe Santa might give you something this year."

.o.o.o.

"What do you mean he's _still_ on the naughty list?" Bunny groaned.

"He is reckless, relentlessly pranks other spirits-" North began.

"Yeah, most of those are on me, and I give as good as I get. As for the Groundhog this year…well, I _might_ have authorized that a bit," Bunny said.

"It may just be that he was on naughty list when he was human and it cannot change now that he is not," North said. "Also, one of his snowstorms last year broke several roofs in Russia and the Baltic Nations."

"How do you know it was one of his? He's not the sole force of snow in the world," Bunny grumbled. "Look, I'm not even asking for something seriously…new or anything, just a fix if you can. " He held up the broken cloak.

"Bunny, there is not enough sewing skill in the _world_," North said.

"Yeah, well, Guardian of Hope can hope, can't he?" Bunny sighed. "So…you're _sure_ he's on the naughty list?"

.o.o.o.

"I'm on the naughty list?" Jack asked.

"You apparently hold the record," Bunny said. "Any confessions you'd like to make to old Bunny?"

"Hmm," Jack said. "It's my dream to freeze all the great lakes at once—you know, in one night, one go—I'm the reason it was so cold for pretty much all of the Siege of Stalingrad—went overboard there, really, I know, but it was interesting to watch—I ice the back stairs of the White House, Kremlin, and Parliament ever three years or so, I draw in the ice on windows to see if anyone thinks it's a ghost, I'm trying to teach penguins how to sled-"

"I meant anything _serious_," Bunny said. "Okay, maybe almost breaking human government officials' necks is it but I think that lot watch where the step."

"Huh…" Jack said. "Serious….serious…Blizzard of 68?"

"Yeah, but since?" Bunny asked.

"…I don't know, people injuring themselves on ice reflects badly on me, like you said?" Jack asked. "What I did to the Groundhog? That thing with the glitter?"

"We will _never_ again mention the thing with the glitter," Bunny said. "Great. North's other theory must be right, and it's bloody stupid."

"What's Santa's theory?" Jack asked.

"You were on the naughty list when you were human, and are stuck there now that you're not," Bunny said, thinking of some alternate way to get a piece of clothing made.

Clothing.

Of course.

"Now, I should mention that the naughty list doesn't preclude gifts from pals," Bunny said quickly.

"Bunny, you don't have to give me chocolate because you feel sorry for me…even if I'll totally eat it," Jack admitted.

"Nah, nothing that easy." Nothing that easy at all.

.o.o.o.

"Not for me, you little devils!" Bunny said. "Look, we have a deal. Make a cape, like this only sturdy and wintery, and you get chocolate. Got it?"

The elves nodded. Clothing they could do. They'd tried making jackets for Bunny and Sandy and dresses for Tooth for _years_.

"Right. I'll be back three days to Christmas," Bunny said. "You do the work, you get the chocolate."

The elves grinned enthusiastically.

.o.o.o.

"All right, Phil, I need a word," Bunny said. "Not one for bows and tape, myself. So…wrap this for me, and I'll paint your next hundred whatever you're painting."

Phil took the box immediately while Bunny grabbed a brush.

.o.o.o.

"Bit of a warm winter, Frostbite."

"Don't worry, I'm just holding out for new year's," Jack said. "Don't want to make Santa put me on the _mega_-naughty list."

"That's all hogwash anyway. Something's wrong with his system if you've never made nice," Bunny said. "So, Merry Christmas."

"Ooh, the Easter Bunny said it. Now I have to go find Satan and freeze his domain…"

"Shut up and take the bloody box."

"Huh?" Jack asked. "Bunny…I didn't get you anything."

"I know. Freeze the groundhog's hide for me and I'll take that," Bunny said. "Or stop freezing bits of the Warren. Whichever."

"I…I don't know what to…"

"Open. The. Box," Bunny said.

Jack quickly opened it. "Whoa."

Bunny smirked. The elves did good work when motivated by sufficient amounts of sweets. Jack's new cape was dark blue with silver snowflakes stitched on and a hood. "Now you don't have to go rooting through donation bins anymore."

"This…it's too nice, I can't wear it!" Jack said.

"Put the cape on before I strangle you with it," Bunny offered.

"Putting it on," Jack said. "Seriously, Bunny…this…thanks. I'll get you something next year."

"Now let's not get all Christmassy here, Frost."

"_Easter's_ next year too, dummy."

"Oh look, here's something I can do with this hood!" Bunny said, yanking it over Jack's face.

"Arg! Hey, no fair!"

"You know what Frost, you might just get _me_ on the naughty list at this rate…."

"You aren't already?"

Bunny's eyes narrowed.

"Kidding!" Jack said quickly. "So kidding!"

Bunny shook his head. "So…you're _sure_ you don't know how you're on the naughty list?"

"Not a clue. Then again, I don't remember anything before being Jack Frost so, ah, maybe I did something?"

"Something that keep you on the blooming list after over two hundred years?"

"Hey, do _you_ know if spirits can change what list they're on?"

"Hey, I don't celebrate Christmas, Frostbite," Bunny said.

"Yeah, but do you know?"

"Shut up and go spread your wintery stuff."

.o.o.o.

A/N: hi, not dead, I was just...hibernating.


End file.
